Skip Bayless Surprisingly Decided to Praise LeBron James
LeBron James has put forth a first-ballot Hall of Fame career that he continues to add to his resume. Throughout much of that, it is has seen Skip Bayless become arguably his biggest critic harping on his shortcomings. However, Bayless recently sang a much different tune in a surprising fashion concerning the LA Lakers star.
Skip Bayless’ reputation
Over the years, Skip Bayless, a longtime sports television personality and former sports columnist, has earned a rough reputation.
Much of which centers on his criticisms and analysis of situations in the sports world. He has cemented his status as a Dallas Cowboys apologist but has often been quite hard on the organization’s shortcomings over the years.
Within that sentiment, Bayless has garnered the distinction as being one of the most prominent critics over LeBron James‘ illustrious career. That has seen him receive plenty of backlash for his harsh criticism of the four-time league MVP. However, he recently in the opposite direction concerning the Lakers’ star forward that caught many by surprise.
Skip Bayless finally praises LeBron James about MVP award
Although there hasn’t been an instance that LeBron James has publicly acknowledged Skip Bayless, he’s been a huge critic.
That seemingly changed for an instance on Friday after Bayless took to social media to voice that he believes James should have won the MVP award over Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Lakers star forward finished second for the honor for the fourth in his career after Antetokounmpo secured it for the second straight year. The Bucks star forward led the team to best record in the league while in many ways topping what he accomplished last season.
James put together an impressive 17th campaign in his second year with the Lakers as he helped guide the franchise back to the playoffs. LA secured the top overall spot in the Western Conference for the first time in a decade while he led the league with his a career-high 10.2 assists. James certainly played at an MVP-caliber level and made a strong case for the award.
It may have just been a short statement from Bayless, but it shows that he isn’t always negative when it comes to LeBron James.
LeBron James focused on guiding the Lakers to an NBA title
LeBron James would have more than welcomed adding the fifth regular-season MVP award in his illustrious NBA career, but his focus remains on the bigger task of winning an NBA title.
The Lakers have continued their strong run through the playoffs that have put them in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. LA grabbed the first two games of the series but nearly fell short in Game 2 before a buzzing-beating 3-pointer by Anthony Davis secured the win.
The Nuggets may be a young team, but their perseverance up through this point in the playoffs warrants tremendous respect. Denver has allotted strong talent beyond its stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. It almost saw their strong second-half effort led by Jokic, especially in the fourth quarter, earn them the win in Game 2.
Davis continues to be the focal point of the Lakers’ offensive attack, but James’ shortcomings in the fourth quarter on Sunday nearly contributed to a loss. It’s a challenging task ahead to move closer to advancing to the NBA Finals, but LA has the talent and veteran presence to get the job done. Game 3 will be a pivotal contest that could shift the tide even greater in the Lakers’ direction.
